Getting a fix on which political issues are of most concern to cleaners has proven to be a difficult task.
Twice in the last year the International Fabricare Institute has asked members to respond to a survey that sought their opinions on key issues to help IFI determine a political course to pursue for the industry.
Response to the first survey, published late last summer, was so light that IFI decided to disregard the results and try again. Response to the second one, published last December, was a little better, but as Patricia Williams, IFI's vice president for government affairs noted, 80-some responses from a membership of several thousand does not provide much of a peg to hang a statistical hat on.
While one might interpret the lack of responses as an indication that there are no critical issues facing the industry, Williams -- and at least the 80-some people who participated in the survey -- don't see it that way.
One of Williams' top concerns is OSHA's new ergonomics regulations, announced last November and scheduled to take full effect in October. Drycleaners, along with most other business owners in the U.S., will have to explain to employees two terms that hardly anyone knows the meaning of today: ergonomics and musculoskeletal disorders.
In short, people who perform certain types of jobs that involve repeated motions or put stress on one part of the body -- pressing or bagging clothes in a drycleaning plant, for example -- may be able to seek changes in their work conditions, or even time off of work with pay, if they can show those jobs are causing them physical pain.
Strong objections to the OSHA regulations have been lodged by many business groups, IFI among them, and lawsuits have been filed seeking to stop OSHA's implementation of the rules. There has also been talk of action by the President or Congress to remove the regulations, Williams noted. But while a reprieve would be good for the industry, Williams said the prudent course for now is to prepare for compliance.
To that end, IFI is working with consultants to develop a compliance manual for drycleaners. Williams said it will discuss jobs likely to be targets of "ergonomically challenged," explain how to present the required information to employees, and provide forms that may be needed for an ergonomics program. The manual should be available in late spring or early summer, she said.
Cleaners should keep a wary eye on OSHA in another area, too. The agency has been planning for several years to issue a new "permissible exposure level" (PEL) standard for perchloroethylene. A new PEL is certain to be lower than the current eight-hour time weighted exposure level of 100 parts per million. The question is, "How much lower?" A radically lower level could force many cleaners into expensive equipment upgrades or replacement.
The issue mentioned most frequently by survey respondents was one that has been at the top of the list for several years: cleanup liability.
Texas Rep. Joe Barton, who has sponsored legislation in the past aimed specifically at solving the industry's clean-up dilemma is still committed to helping drycleaners, Williams said. There are no immediate plans to introduce a new "Barton" bill this year, but other legislation related to environmental cleanup, such as a Brownfields bill, is being watched for signs that they might ease the cleanup burden on small businesses. And there is still hope for an administrative solution to the industry's problem through EPA.
Another piece of drycleaning-specific legislation that could make a comeback this year is a tax credit for purchase of "environmentally friendly" cleaning machines. IFI sought members' advice as to whether this legislation should be supported if it is not broadened beyond wetcleaning and liquid carbon dioxide machines. Williams said cleaners' response was mixed. She said there is a good chance that Illinois Rep. Don Manzullo, who ushered the bill through hearings in his subcommittee last year, will want to bring it back in some form this year.
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association will honor its long-time executive director Bill Seitz with a retirement party on Saturday, March 31.
Seitz concluded a 30-year term as the association's executive director at the end of last year. His career with NCA, which spans more than 50 years, is not over yet, however. He remains in a consulting capacity for the association which he helped build from a few hundred members to several thousand. NCA has him scheduled for active duty this May and June with a series of spotting seminars in Florida. Seitz is also offering his services as a private consultant to individual drycleaners.
His NCA "retirement" party will be held at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadow Park 111th Street at 52nd Avenue. Joe Hallak, who is organizing the event, said there will be dinner, dancing and an open bar. Speeches, he promised, will be short. The cost is $125 per person.
Out of town guests can receive special room rates at the nearby Crown Plaza Hotel by calling the hotel, (718) 457-6300 and mentioning NCA.
For more information about the event, call the NCA office (212) 967-3002.
Though casual wear remains a prominent component of America's business fashion, there are some people who are hoping to bring the country back to a higher standard of attire at the workplace.
In fact, President George W. Bush just might lead the charge.
In a press conference in January, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer responded to a question pertaining to how the new administration's staff would conduct themselves in the White House.
Fleischer told the press: "Andy (Andrew Card, White House Chief of Staff) has addressed that with the staff. Andy's guidance is very basic: treat the White House with respect. And that means when you walk into the Oval Office, you should be properly attired. That if you're in your offices on the weekend, be properly attired. We'll see exactly what the dress code is as established by the President, when he decides to walk around, particularly on weekends."
Overall, Bush's policy contrasts sharply with the more relaxed dress code during Clinton's Administration. This likely means very good news for drycleaners.
IFI CEO Bill Fisher is certainly pleased with President Bush's new dress code. "When it comes to promoting the merits of more formal attire over business casual wear, cleaners can't ask for a better spokesperson than the President of the United States," he said.
"President Bush is setting a great example to the American public that dressing well connotes getting down to business. Now we as an industry need to follow the President's lead and start demonstrating to our customers the benefits of dressing up and dressing well."
Fisher is trying to promote professional attire through IFI by judging a contest for the ten best drycleaners and Allied Trades representatives in the industry.
Another company, known as Conselle L.C., is also trying to offset the casual wear trend. Conselle is an image management firm that specializes in preparing education materials, seminars and special event programs that promote a higher standard of personal appearance.
Conselle has already worked in conjunction with 1 Dressup.com to produce promotional material for a grassroots "Dress Up Thursdays" campaign which is designed to encourage corporations to give a professional alternative to "Casual Fridays." Some of the promotional materials that Conselle has distributed include "Professional Image Guides" which breakdown four separate levels of dress styles for people who seek guidelines for how to dress appropriately and fashionably for certain occasions.
According to Judith Rasband, the company's founder, "The business casual trend isn't about fashion. It's about the whole casualization of America that began in the turbulent '60s. It's about the general decline in civility. It's about people who don't know how to dress anymore. Clothing management is no longer taught to kids at home or in our schools." In addition to trying to educate people on image management, the company is also working to promote the physical, psychological and aesthetic aspects of dressing up by distributing bulletin board kits to drycleaning plants and other businesses in the field of fashion.
The kits will contain a variety of articles that illustrate the harmful effects of business casual wear, as well as the power of personal appearance. Each kit will also include Professional Style Scales that will illustrate the four different levels of dress styles and the messages they send in the professional world.
Drycleaners interested in obtaining kits should contact Judith Rasband at (801) 224-1207 or visit Conselle's web site at www.conselle.com.
For more information on IFI's contest, go to www.ifi.org and click on the General Information section.
Information on the "Dress Up Thursdays" campaign, is available at www.1dressup.com.
The International Fabricare Institute has decided to expand its Best Dressed Drycleaner contest to include Allied Trade sales representatives.
The contest, which seeks to recognize cleaners who convey a positive daily image to customers by dressing professionally, also extended its March 30, 2001 deadline to May 30 in order to accommodate the new entries.
"Sales representatives from the Allied Trades -- as they go about their daily calls -- are seen by the general public and help provide examples of 'good dressing' that we so sorely need," IFI CEO Bill Fisher said. "And because they're helping set the example, we wanted to recognize them through this contest."
Not only will Fisher determine the ten best dressed drycleaners and employees, but he will also select ten of the best dressed individuals from drycleaning and laundry manufacturers, distributors and suppliers.
Fisher reserves the right to question any nominee's peers so that he can verify the person's typical day-to-day business attire.
IFI will send out modified contest submissions in its March 2001 edition of Fabricare. A form is also available on-line at ww.w.ifi.org, in the General Information section. Contest nominations are required to answer a few questions on an entry form and return it to IFI along with a picture that shows them in their typical daily work attire.
Some sample questions on the form include: How would you describe your daily work attire? and What kind of dress code exists at your establishment?
The ten winners from each category will be honored by IFI at their Clean 2001 program in New Orleans, LA, this summer. Additionally, all contest winners will be featured in a future issue of Fabricare.
The Fabric Care Research Association, a trade association for drycleaners and launderers in the United Kingdom, suddenly closed its doors in January. The association was based in North Yorkshire, England, and had served the industry for over 75 years.
FCRA provided garment analysis, textile testing, consulting services and technical research. The association also served as a contact between the UK garment care industry and clothing manufacturers concerning garment problems and it worked with government agencies on regulatory issues affecting the industry. FCRA also served as a liaison between the UK industry and industry groups in other nations.
In its Annual Review 2000 published last year, managing director Chris Tebbs noted that despite declining membership, FCRA ended the previous year with a budget surplus and he was optimistic about the future. Reductions in staff in the late 1990s resulted in a deficit for the pension fund, Tebbs noted, adding that problem "was being worked on."
The pension problem, ultimately, was the undoing of the association. The sudden closure of FCRA in January was due, Tebbs said, to a debt related to the pension fund.
"We had not counted on the pressures on pension funds created by a mixture of government policy and the power of pension companies," Tebbs told a representative of the International Fabricare Institute, FCRA's counterpart in the United States.
Tebbs said FCRA had followed professional advice for eliminating the pension fund deficit but "sadly the advice was incorrect and resulted in an increased deficit in the fund."
That deficit, too, could have been managed, he said, but new government regulations concerning the valuation of funds, coupled with a reduction in long-term interest rates resulting in increases in the cost of annuity rates, resulted in a prediction of underfunding in excess of the association's assets. Government regulations require funding level at 90 percent by April 2003.
The association was left with no other choice than to recommend voluntary liquidation, Tebbs said.
"The shock has not really hit home yet," Tebbs told IFI. "The association was trading very well and indeed was picking up considerably. In the week following closure there were messages on the answering machine with a number of orders for training and testing, as well as confirmation of four new members.
"It all happened so quickly, from the information of the problem to the decision was eight days and, even though the problem was there, the decision to close and closure was less than 24 hours," Tebbs said.
Tebbs was one of 11 permanent staff members "made redundant" by the closure. He had been with the association for 34 years.
"Although I have seen many changes, the association has always provided strong support for its members," he said. "It is indeed sad that that support will no longer be there."
Meeting today's and tomorrow's consumer and drycleaning challenges is the theme of the educational seminars to be presented by the International Fabricare Institute at the 2001 Clean Show July 19-22 in New Orleans.
Sessions on fashions and fabric care solutions, alternative cleaning technologies, confronting the casual wear movement, stemming the tide of employee turnover and other topics are planned..
"Whether you're looking to improve your day-to-day business operations or learn more about big-picture issues like the pros and cons of new technologies, IFI has an educational seminar for you," said Mary Scalco, IFI senior vice president. "And even if you don't think a session is for you, come anyway. You may be surprised at what you learn."
IFI President Bob Shirley added: "I would recommend that all of IFI's owners attend the show and attend the seminars. It does not make any difference how much you think you know you will learn something if you attend."
As one of the six cosponsors of the Clean Show, IFI is responsible for putting on eight hours of educational programming. IFI's programs will take place in the form of seven sessions over three days from July 20-22.
The following is the schedule and a brief description of the topics.
FRIDAY, JULY 20SATURDAY, JULY 21IFI's Opening Session and Awards Ceremony, 8-9:30 a.m.
IFI CEO William E. Fisher and the IFI board of directors kick off the educational programs with the Meritorious Service Awards and Allied Trades Award presentations. Individuals and organizations who have made substantial contributions to the industry will be recognized.Fabricare Solutions for Today's Fashions, 9:45-11 a.m.
With mannequins and live models IFI will highlight some of the problems with current fashion trends. Tips and solutions for solving problems with contemporary styles, including pleather, spandex blends, and coated fabrics, will be offered at this session, a perennial favorite among attendees. Find out what to watch for and how to care for these runway fashions.
Straight Talk on Alternatives: Cleaners Ask the Important Questions, 8-9:30 a.m.SUNDAY, JULY 22
Deciding which cleaning solutions are best involves many factors. With the emergence of new alternatives, cleaners need to know how to separate the hype from the facts. A panel of cleaners will ask the important questions about carbon dioxide, petroleum, Rynex, GreenEarth, and wetcleaning, focusing on the realities of introducing these alternatives into a drycleaning operation. The audience will be invited to submit questions to the panel.Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Capturing the Casual Market, 9:45-11 a.m.
If you are among the cleaners who are losing volume to the popularity of casual wear, come hear ideas of how to reverse this trend.
Finding Employees Who Pass More Than the "Fog the Mirror Test," 8-8:45 a.m.Clean '01 in New Orleans takes place July 19-22. Registration forms for the show are available at on the web at www.cleanshow.com and will be in the March issue of IFI's Fabricare magazine. Information is also available by contacting Riddle & Associates, the Clean Show's management group, at (404) 876-1988. IFI's headquarters hotel for the show is the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. Rooms have been set aside for IFI members. To make a reservation at the Monteleone, IFI members should call the hotel directly at (800) 535-9595 or (504) 523-3341. IFI members will need to identify themselves as such and give the booking code "IFI" to receive IFI's discounted room rate.
How do you stop turnover, the profit killer, and get good people in a tight labor market? Sid Tuchman of Tuchman Training Systems explains how you can find good people in today's competitive labor market. He will explaining how to turn transient employees into loyal and long-lasting team members.So You Want to be a Millionaire: Hear How These Cleaners Are Making It Happen, 9-10 a.m.
The proliferation of TV game shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire reflect a culture consumed by the notion of getting money for nothing. In the drycleaning industry, there is no substitute for hard work, imagination, and savvy business practices, as this panel of successful drycleaners will attest. These "Survivors," who have achieved financial success, will tell how you can incorporate their techniques into your business.BUSINESS AS USUAL WON'T CUT IT WITH TODAY'S CONSUMERS, 10:15-11 A.M.
In a changing world, businesses must adapt to the times or risk losing market share to those who think outside the box. The industry paradigm for the new millennium must shift from the anti-change attitude of "That's how we've always done it" to a more open-minded approach to meeting customer demands. Learn how you can incorporate various tools available today to better serve your customers and expand your market.
The nomination deadline has been extended to May 30 for the International Fabricare Institute's second biennial "Meritorious Service Awards."
The awards will be presented at the 2001 Clean Show in New Orleans.
IFI introduced its "Meritorious Service Awards" in 1999 to honor the contributions of fabric care professionals toward advancing the industry. The awards are open to plant owners, educators, suppliers, and other individuals who have provided exemplary volunteer service, and are not limited to IFI members.
One winner will be awarded in each of the seven award categories. The nomination categories along with a recap of the 1999 winners are as follows:
Industry Positive Recognition Award. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding results in securing favorable publicity for the industry. This individual could be someone who, working extensively with the media, has helped the public understand the industry.
The 1999 winner was Edward Boorstein, CED, CPD, CPW, owner of Prestige Exceptional Fabricare, Silver Spring, MD. The awards selection committee determined that Boorstein had, literally, decades of documentable achievements in this area.
Legislative-Regulatory Award. This award recognizes an individual who has actively worked on critical legislative or regulatory issues that concern the industry.
The 1999 winner was Abraham Cho, owner of Natural Cleaners, Middletown, NJ. The committee selected Cho because he personally organized dozens of grassroots cleaners to travel from New Jersey to Capital Hill on behalf of the Barton Bill. During their one-day visit to Washington, the cleaners presented a large check in support of the bill, and they met one on one with their Senate and House representatives.
Technology Trailblazer Award. This award honors an individual or firm that has conducted innovative research on equipment or solvents that has resulted in a currently usable and commercially proven technology.
In 1999, the selection committee chose Exxon Chemical Company for its "DF-2000" solvent, which is used successfully by many petroleum drycleaners.
Allied Trades Award. This award recognizes a supplier or distributor who has provided long-term service of a substantial nature, demonstrated through unflagging support of member cleaners.
The 1999 winner was Ed Ustik of Phenix Supply Company, Atlanta, GA.
Green Fields Award. This award recognizes a person or organization that has made a lasting contribution concerning an environmental-related issue or initiative.
The 1999 winner was Ann Hargrove of Lyons, IL, for her work as a wetcleaning advocate.
Commitment to Professionalism Award. This award recognizes an individual who has, through his or her efforts, raised the professionalism of the cleaning industry.
In 1999, the selection committee awarded Carmelia Bernardi, Woonsocket, RI, for her efforts over the years in helping to raise the professionalism of cleaners.
Diamond Achievement Award. The top award, this honor is bestowed on an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution that has, in a unique way, benefited the industry.
The winner of the inaugural Diamond Achievement Award was Barney Deden, Omaha, NE, for his deep commitment and untiring efforts on behalf of the "Barton Bill." Although retired from active plant ownership, he has remained a tireless advocate for regulatory relief in the cleaning industry.
Nomination forms can be found in issues of Fabricare magazine. People submitting nominations may nominate only one individual or organization for each award category. Nominators must also sign the form and fill in the "Nominator's Information" section of the form. Failure to do so will invalidate the nomination form. To ensure a fair nominating process, nominators may only send in one form.
An Awards Selection Committee will meet in early spring to pare the lists to a few select finalists before selecting the award winner for each category. Some categories may produce no winners, due to category overlap or lack of qualified nominees.
For more information, call IFI, (800) 638-2627.
Sen. Edward Kennedy thinks chances are better this year for passing legislation to increase the federal minimum wage which now stands at $5.15 an hour.
In the last Congress, Kennedy's efforts were shot down in the Senate, which was then under firm Republican control. But with a 50-50 split between the parties in the new Senate, the Massachusetts senator believes he has a better shot.
"Things have changed in the U.S. Senate," Kennedy said at a news conference as he introduced his proposal on Feb. 7. He and Michigan Representative David Bonior are leading the charge for a higher minimum wage. The new proposal calls for a raise of $1.50 an hour phased in over three years.
Last year, a bill that would have phased in a $1 increase over two years cleared the House in a deal in which Republican opposition to a higher minimum was withdrawn in exchange for Democrats withdrawing their opposition to a package of tax breaks for business. Republican leaders in the Senate nixed that deal, however.
An estimated 11 million people who work at the minimum wage would be directly affected by an increase. Many others, at least in theory, would be, too, as wage scales are adjusted upward to reflect the new, higher minimum.
Although members of congress refused to raise the minimum last year, they did approve a pay raise for themselves amounting to $3,800 per member. That's about $1,800 a year more than a minimum-wage worker would receive from a $1 an hour raise.
Kennedy and Bonior argue that people who work at the minimum now are earning below the poverty line. Opponents of an increase argue that most minimum wage jobs are held by younger, less experienced workers. Increasing the minimum will reduce job opportunities for these workers, they say.
"Unfortunately, when the minimum wage is hiked, it is not the big corporations that have to absorb the cost. It is small business. Small firms offer most of the minimum wage jobs," the National Federation of Independent Businesses said.
NFIB noted that an American Economic Association survey of labor economists conducted in 1998 found that a 10 percent rise in the minimum wage would reduce youth employment by 2.1 percent.
Due to testimony by IFI Textile Analyst Iqbal Khan (CPD, CPW), an IFI member cleaner saved more than $1,000 in a Virginia Small Claims Court dispute last December.
The cleaner was taken to court by a customer who was unsatisfied with the cleaning of an expensive comforter that was part of a set that reportedly cost $1,100.
After the customer originally complained to the cleaner about the comforter, it was sent to IFI's Textile Analysis Laboratory in Silver Spring, MD, where Khan analyzed it.
Khan had determined that the pockets of the comforter were too large to account for filler clumping during normal use and cleaning, concluding that the cleaner was not responsible and that the problem was due to an inherent manufacturing problem.
The report, dated May 18, 2000, had stated: "The synthetic non-woven batting material is of a loose construction and is susceptible to separation and shifting of the fibers which causes the insulating material to become distorted... There should be some quilt stitch forming small pockets to restrict the batting from extensive shifting during use and care."
Khan's report concluded that the "flat" and "lumpy" appearance of the comforter could be attributed directly to the quality of materials and method of construction, noting that the damage "cannot be attributed to any improper care process."
When a copy of the report was sent to the member cleaner, it was shown to the customer. However, unsatisfied with the results, the customer sought $1,100 in small claims court for a new bed set, plus additional money to pay for all court costs and attorney fees.
Khan was called upon to testify on December 5.
"The attorney asked me many questions concerning drycleaning, laundry, pressing and heat drying of a garment," he said. "All the answers were given in a technical and easy to understand manner. I supported my explanation with the relative TABS (Technical Analysis Bulletins) and (IFI) bulletins I carried with me to court."
"The judge agreed to my technical explanation about the poor fabrication of the comforter," Khan continued. "The consumer was awarded only a small portion of the claim. The judge made the cleaner responsible for a very small amount for being negligent for not informing the consumer about the consequences and outcome of the article after the cleaning procedure."
Warn the customer
The member cleaner was ordered by the court to pay $250 for neglecting to warn the customer of the possibility of damage.
"That's the important part," Khan noted. "If the people working up front are not trained to look for such things and do not get releases signed by the customers when they do come up, then they may have to pay."
It is unlikely that the cleaner would have had to pay any reparations to the customer if the customer had been warned of the potential problem and signed a release form.
For questions pertaining to IFI's International Textile Analysis Lab, members can call an analyst directly at (800) 638-2627, ext. 128 or 129.
Copies of ITAL's new Request For Analysis form can be obtained by calling the lab or through IFI's Fax-On-Demand service at (800) 283-0569, item/menu No. 201. ITAL's services are for IFI members only.
Clean '01 is offering on-line registration through the Clean Show web site (www.cleanshow.com) in addition to registration by mail and fax.
Registration fees are $35 per person if received by June 15. After that date, attendees will need to register at the show and the cost will be $60. Registration includes admission to the exhibit floor and all educational sessions offered by the show's six co-sponsoring associations.
The Clean Show web site also has a link to the Clean '01 Housing Bureau so individuals can make reservations on-line at the show's official hotels. Other show information is also available on the web site.
The show will open on Thursday, July 19 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Exhibit hours will be 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 21; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 21. There will be special distributor-only exhibit hours on Thursday and Friday mornings.
For more information about Clean '01, contact Riddle & Associates, suite 360-C, 1874 Piedmont Rd., Atlanta, GA 30324; phone (404) 876-1988; fax (404) 876-5121; or e-mail info@cleanshow.com .
Karl Michael Francis Wilke, the first executive director of the International Fabricare Institute, died on January 2. He was 88 years old.
Wilke was the former general manager of the American Institute of Launderers (AIL) and the former executive vice president and general manager of IFI. He was a life-long drycleaning professional and helped bring IFI into existence during a particularly rough period of time for AIL and the Silver Spring, MD-based National Institute of Drycleaners (NID).
Wilke's life-long involvement in the laundry and drycleaning industry began in Albany, NY. He joined the family business in 1935 following graduation from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.
During World War II, Wilke served as a technical advisor for laundry operations to the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Lt. Colonel.
He assumed full control of the Wilke Laundry Company in 1957.
He was involved in association work in New York, serving as president of the Albany-Troy-Schenectady Launderers and Cleaners Association, the Central New York Launderers and Cleaners Association, the New York State Launderers and Cleaners Association, and the New York-Ohio-Pennsylvania Sanitone Licensee Association.
In 1964 he was elected AIL Director of District 9 (New York and New Jersey) and AIL President the following year. At that time, the industry was searching for a new general manager, and in an unprecedented move the board prevailed upon its own president to step from the chairmanship of the policy-making group to the full-time active direction of the Institute's staff and facility.
Wilke had been preparing to move his plant to a new location since the site of the Wilke Laundry Co. was in an area slated for urban renewal. Upon accepting the challenge of leadership, he sold his company in order to devote his time to his new responsibilities.
During Wilke's tenure as executive director, the Joliet, IL-based AIL and NID united to represent fabric care professionals everywhere during a time when the floor was failing out of both associations.
"The market was simply falling apart," said Kenneth W. Faig, former director of plant operations for IFI and one of Wilke's former employees at AIL. "There were new laundry machines and they had taken a bite out of the market and then when the new fabrics came out, like polyester, well, the industry started falling apart."
Wilke became the first general manager of the newly formed IFI in April 1972, taking the reigns during that difficult period and helping merge the two associations.
In his monthly "Comments" column in the IFI monthly Fabricare News, Wilke discussed prevalent issues in the industry and called fabric care specialists to task on promoting their industry and, by extension, increasing their sales.
In June of 1972, Wilke wrote about the changing times and issued a challenge to cleaners. "If we stop to think of our problems, there is usually a tendency to admit defeat without a fight. That is not how America was built," he wrote.
Charles R. Riggott, former executive vice president of NID and Wilke's successor, remembered Wilke as a family man who was easy going. "We never had any real problems with the merger," he said.
Riggott said that the only problem with the merger was deciding which building to use as the main headquarters. Eventually, the Joliet building was closed due to structural problems.
On June 30, 1976, Wilke retired and became the first member of IFI's Hall of Fame. He moved back to his hometown of Albany, NY, started a new cleaning company and devoted his remaining years to his family and his hobby of thoroughbred horse ownership and racing.
Wilke is survived by his wife Dorothy, five daughters and their spouses, nine grandchildren and their spouses, and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his granddaughter Kathlyn Flood who died in 1982.
Bob Santo, owner of Westwood Cleaners in Westfield, NJ, died Jan. 17. Santo, whose father owned two cleaning plants in New Jersey, grew up around the cleaning business but he did not go into it himself until after his father died in 1967. At the time of his father's death, he was one of a handful of U.S. Marines who had an active-duty deferment to pursue graduate studies. Santo was studying law.
Santo ended up leaving both the Marines and law school to help keep the family business going. Eventually, he enrolled in courses at the Neighborhood Cleaners Association to enhance his new career and he remained an NCA member throughout his years as a drycleaner. He was active in other organizations, too. He was a founding member of the New Jersey Drycleaners Coalition, which attempted to get state legislation passed that would address drycleaners' environmental concerns and liabilities, and he sat on the state board for Easter Seals for 10 years and appeared on the annual telethon from 1983 to 1993.
He is survived by his wife, Donna Pollock Santo; daughters Susan E. Sevell, Elissa A. Santo and Christina M. Ricerca; and a son, Paul. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Paul Santo Trust Fund, 1937 Westfield Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076.
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